Officially, C.J. Spiller didn’t practice, Fred Jackson did

Bills running back C.J. Spiller reportedly was “extremely limited” at practice on Tuesday. He was so limited that whatever he did didn’t amount to even participating in practice.

According to the official report, Spiller did not practice, due to a lingering ankle injury.

Limited in practice was running back Fred Jackson (pictured), who has a sprained MCL in his knee. Jackson told NFL Network that, come Thursday night, he’ll play in Cleveland.

“Knee’s a little sore,” Jackson told Andrew Siciliano. “But it is what it is. At this point of the year, there’s not a lot of people that aren’t sore. So it’s just something I’ve got to deal with. . . . I’m definitely playing. I’m going to do everything I can to get back out there.”

(He wouldn’t have to do so much if the Bills didn’t have to play only four days after the team’s last game, but everybody has to do it once per year so that makes it OK, right?)

Jackson said he couldn’t speak for Spiller, but Jackson said Spiller that is doing everything he can to play, too.

Safety Jairus Byrd, the franchise-tagged defender who has yet to play this year, fully participated in practice with a foot injury. Byrd has said he won’t play until he’s 100 percent, a position likely influenced by the season-ending injuries suffered by a pair of other 2013 franchise players — Bears defensive tackle Henry Melton and Cowboys defensive end Anthony Spencer.

Man! I wish the Bills didn’t get a rod up their butt because Marshawn Lynch had a couple of relatively minor off-field transgressions. I like Jackson & Spiller but they seem to be a little brittle.

nflfan4now says:Oct 1, 2013 8:17 PM

These Thursday night games should only start after the bye weeks begin, and they should only feature teams coming off a bye. It’s ridiculous for the teams, players and fans to have all these injured players trying to play on short weeks.

nflfan4now says:Oct 1, 2013 8:18 PM

Or even move them to Friday nights!

EJ says:Oct 1, 2013 8:19 PM

Spiller can sit out and rest as long as Jackson is ready to go. The Bills aren’t in a rush to get Byrd back, Jim Leonard is playing very well in his place.

wwwmattcom says:Oct 1, 2013 8:20 PM

Lynch hit people with his car. Minor?

mackcarrington says:Oct 1, 2013 8:35 PM

@wwwmattcom: He didn’t kill anybody. And why would that be a reason to trade him?

wryly1 says:Oct 1, 2013 8:36 PM

Nice win over Baltimore, but there’s no way Bills are ready to hit the road on a short week and face Browns defense with a rookie QB. Bank on it.

The thing with Lynch was, they knew he was a great player. Everyone in Buffalo knew it too. The problem is, if he is suspended, it doesn’t really matter how good he is. Marshawn’s run-ins with the law were relatively minor, but they kept happening and the NFL’s discipline policy is very strict when it wants to be.

There was some sort of strange incident involving Marshawn and a cop’s wife in a bar that got limited attention. He never got arrested or anything like that for it, but it was just another incident. Marshawn’s tendency to have a little too much fun made the Bills very nervous to build their team around him. Players with off-field issues usually don’t last in Buffalo for very long.

Besides, Lynch was fine with going back to the west coast, closer to his family. I do miss seeing him in a Bills uni tho…

mackarrington, while cj and fred have gotten banged up from time to time, they also rarely miss significant time, with the exception of when Fred Jackson broke his leg two seasons ago.

As for contributing to their teams success…surely you don’t believe that they aren’t huge factors on the offense the last two seasons do you? They are a huge part of this offense the Bills have paired together. CJ is off to a slow start but those two are invaluable to an otherwise young and inexperienced offense.

Granted Marshawn is the best out of the 3 right now, but he came with a litany of off the field distractions the Bills needed not to be a part of. They traded one excellent player and all his baggage for two very good (and Spiller has excellent caliber talent) players with 0 baggage. Im afraid you miss the point my friend.

kgunforhire says:Oct 1, 2013 11:14 PM

In a league where off the field transgressions run rampant, no team should have to tolerate misconduct by their players. I give credit to franchises who choose not to support the actions of those players no matter how talented they are. Mack must be the president of the Rae Carruth fan club.

Get well Spiller and Jackson! Definitely need all the help the Bills can get against a tough Browns defense.

Winnable game for buffalo you go from Joe Flacco,Cam Newton, and Tom Brady in 3 of your first 4 games to playing Brian Hoyer….E.J. doesn’t turn the ball over and you have a good chance of winning this game

They’ll need all the help in the backfield that they can get. The Browns defense is third in the NFL, and running on their front seven is nearly impossible. It should be a good game Thursday.

EJ says:Oct 2, 2013 8:07 AM

mackcarrington says:
Oct 1, 2013 8:45 PM

@tcmiller30: Yes. But is he still a productive player contributing to Seattle’s success?

Hasn’t he already missed games for Seattle related to off-field issues? Missing even 1 game is detrimental to a team. Didn’t he miss at least 4? His troubles didn’t end after Buffalo. Lynch is a ticking time bomb for trouble.

doorbanger says:
Oct 2, 2013 9:34 AM
Baltimores rushing defense was in the top 5 in the NFL too, but the bills still rushed for over 200 yards. Bring on the Brownies!!
————————————————————

They rushed 55 times, and passed 22 times. They only averaged 3.7 ypc. There is no way Buffalo wins that game if Flacco doesn’t throw 5 INT’s.

mackcarrington says:Oct 2, 2013 4:55 PM

@billsboy88: You articulated your argument very well and I agree with you completely . At that time I thought that Lynch was bad news too. I don’t think he is a “bad guy”. If he had gotten suspended 3 years ago it might have straightened him out then. And let me say again, I like Spiller and Jackson. But it seems to me the Bills need a “power back”. Someone who is sturdy and can move the pile. And yes I read the Bflo News and saw that weird thing with some cops wife. But damn, those things didn’t equate to Hernandez or Rothlesberger. Would you have traded Rothlesberger?